A ‘Mystery Pooper’ Has Been Bedeviling A New Jersey High School, And Police Say It’s District’s Superintendent

A “mystery pooper” has been fouling up the track at a New Jersey high school, and authorities have finally found the alleged culprit. And if you think it’s a teenager playing a gross prank, you’re wrong: it’s the school’s superintendent.

As New Jersey Advance Media reports, human feces was found on the track at Holmdel High School”on a daily basis.” The track coach reported it to the school’s resource officer, who in turn set up surveillance.

Sure enough, the hidden cameras eventually caught the miscreant in the act. It’s not clear when that happened, but on Monday, at about 5:50 a.m., authorities made an arrest. Kenilworth Schools Superintendent Thomas Tramaglini, 42, was jogging along the track when cops cuffed him.

According to a companion New Jersey Advance Media report, Tamaglini would allegedly do the deed during his morning jogs.

Tamagliani has been charged with lewdness and littering, and will appear in court next Monday to answer charges. Perhaps not surprisingly, he’s taken some “time off” from his $147,504 a year job. Officially, he’s on paid leave, because New Jersey law only allows unpaid leave if a person is indicted.

Tamagliani is, or was, also a part-time lecturer at the nearby Rutgers Graduate School of Education. Although, as of this writing, his employment status there remains unclear, and the university has declined to comment.

It is unclear if Tamagliani has granted bail, or if he has an attorney.

If all of this sounds extremely familiar, that’s because a remarkably similar story emerged earlier this year in Colorado. As the Denver Post reported late last year, neighbors in Colorado Springs were tormented on a daily basis by the “Mad Pooper,” also a jogger, although this time a female, who would allegedly leave a “gift” each morning on neighbors’ lawns, and targeting one family in particular. Even though the family was able to capture the woman on camera, she was never identified, and as of this writing no arrests have been made in the case. Also, it seems the media coverage forced her to change her ways: she apparently stopped defecating, at least, in that particular neighborhood.

Meanwhile, as Vice reported in January of this year, an Arkansas family also found human waste on their yard. They checked their security camera footage, and sure enough, it was provided by a jogger.

Clearly there’s something about jogging that wreaks havoc on the human digestive system.

Meanwhile, back in New Jersey, social media users are having fun with all of the puns this story offers.

Pooperintendent?

I’m glad they found the poopetrator.

What a crappy situation.

In case you were wondering, the penalty for lewdness in New Jersey, for a first offense, could be as much as six months in jail and a fine of up to $1,000, according to Reisig Criminal Defense & DWI Law.